Bacterial infections of the lungs can be life threatening if left untreated. For example, pneumonic tularemia can be fatal if not properly treated. Francisella tularensis is a bacteria that can result in a pneumonic tularemia infection if inhaled. F. tularensis is so infectious that is has been identified by the Centers for Disease Control as a potential biological warfare agent.
Many bacterium have more that one biovar, i.e., more than one strain. F. tularensis has biovars, for example, Type A (Schu S4) and Type B (holarctica). Type A results in a more severe infection than Type B. Early detection of lung infections results in earlier treatment intervention and better prognosis for recovery. In addition, distinguishing between bacterial biovars allows for health care practitioners to prescribe the most appropriate treatment. As such, methods of detecting lung infections, and methods of distinguishing biovars of an infection, are needed.